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Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Colorado’s Travis Hunter were two of the best wide receivers in college football this season.
Both were essentially unguardable. En route to a College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Smith finished fourth in the nation with 1,315 receiving yards and tied for second with 15 touchdown catches — all on just 76 receptions.
For Hunter, he recorded 96 receptions for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns at wide receiver while also playing nearly every defensive snap at cornerback. The junior's stellar play earned him the school's second-ever Heisman Trophy and numerous other awards.
But if Smith, a true freshman, was NFL draft-eligible this season like Hunter, who would get picked first?
Fox Sports NFL draft analyst Rob Rang created a first-round NFL mock draft that included all eligible players for 2025 and underclassmen.
Despite Hunter winning college football’s most prestigious award and being nearly two-and-a-half years older than Smith, Rang projected Smith to go No. 2 overall to the Cleveland Browns in his mock draft. Hunter wasn’t far behind, landing at No. 3 overall to the New York Giants.
Rang did have high praise for both players, but gave the nod to Smith. He even admitted, "Super blue-chip prospects like Colorado's Travis Hunter or Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith should be in play" for the top pick.
"I can't imagine Cleveland bypassing a ridiculous talent like Smith..." Rang wrote when discussing Smith to the Browns. "The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Smith is just different than any other non-NFL receiver, boasting exceptional physical traits and impressing scouts already with his commitment to improvement."
This is what he had to say about Hunter to the Giants:
"Hunter is just too special to let fall further," Rang added. "Can you imagine his versatility and Heisman flair on Broadway? He could be the receiver to help challenge and protect Malik Nabers, as well as the lockdown corner that turns a good defense into a great one.
Here's Rang's complete top five:
- Tennessee Titans: Arch Manning, QB, Texas, RS FR
- Cleveland Browns: Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State, FR
- New York Giants: Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado, JR
- New England Patriots, Mason Graham, DT, Michigan, JR
- Jacksonville Jaguars: Malaki Starks, S, Georgia, JR
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The Cleveland Browns are a step closer to finding their starting quarterback for the upcoming season. The Browns had a four-way race for the QB1 job entering training camp. Rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders were long-shot contenders for the gig. The real competition has been between Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco. However, the race has dramatically changed following Pickett's hamstring injury. Per Zac Jackson of The Athletic, Flacco is now the "strong favorite" to win the starting job, as the veteran has taken advantage of his reps while Pickett remains limited at practice. "Pickett said he’s working '24-7' to get back to full speed but acknowledged he’s losing ground," Jackson wrote. "Joe Flacco’s two best throwing days have been the two most recent days, Friday and Saturday. Neither of the rookies ever had much of a realistic chance to win the starting job this August, and over the last week, Flacco has gone from presumed favorite to strong favorite. What always mattered most was finding the No. 1 — even if that status was going to be in flux at some point — and letting the folks in charge evaluate and decide on the rest of the depth chart and the room. There’s a lot of camp left, and there’s obviously a lot still to be settled with Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Sanders. Flacco's resurgence in 2023, when he won NFL Comeback Player of the Year, was the main reason the Browns made the playoffs that season. His familiarity with Cleveland and head coach Kevin Stefanski makes him the natural choice to start Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, even if Pickett wasn't sidelined for team drills.
Caitlin Clark's Expected Return Date Could Bring Good News for Indiana Fever
The Indiana Fever have found a way to keep winning with star Caitlin Clark on the sidelines with a groin injury, improving their record to 17-12 with a win Sunday over the Seattle Storm. While it remains unclear exactly when Clark could take the floor again, her expected return timeline could match up well with a critical stretch in the Fever's schedule. ESPN's Holly Rowe reported in late July that while Clark remained day-to-day, it would be realistic for her to return sometime around the third week in August. That could put the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year back on the court for what could be the team's most important stretch of the season -- a back-to-back set with the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on August 22 and 24. The Fever are looking to climb up in the crowded playoff standings, and getting at least a split from the home-and-home series with the Lynx could be critical. Fever coach Stephanie White stressed after Sunday's win that the team was not going to rush Clark back onto the court. "I know she wants to be out here on the floor, we want her out here on the floor, but making sure that she's ready is the most important thing," White said. "I still don't know how far we are, we're gonna take it one step at a time, one day at a time, and go from there."
Triple H provides statement on Seth Rollins' SummerSlam appearance
Night one of SummerSlam 2026 ended with a bang. Seth Rollins came back from what now appears to have been a fake injury, cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase against CM Punk. The WWE fanbase had long postulated the idea of Rollins returning at SummerSlam. His return felt like low-hanging fruit. Yet, despite the expectations, both Punk and Rollins played the situation perfectly. Now, as we head into night two of SummerSlam, there is a new World Heavyweight Champion in town. When speaking at the SummerSlam post-show, Paul "Triple H" Levesque admitted, albeit in kayfabe, that he wasn't pleased with Rollins falsifying injury reports to get the upper hand on Punk. "Seth Rollins is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers," Levesque said. "And he comes out, goes through none of it and takes the World Heavyweight Championship. My hats off to Seth Rollins. That’s a smart way to do business. Not thrilled about bogus medical reports, but we’ll deal with that down the line." Not everyone will be happy with Rollins becoming the new champion. They will feel like Punk was robbed. Or that WWE creative took the easiest route possible. And in truth, they're probably right. However, sometimes the best way to progress a story is to go with the most obvious segue. The fact is, everyone came away from the SummerSlam main event with some form of emotion. The story being told worked; it made people feel. And now, the storyline moves on to how Punk and Rollins — two heated rivals — will move forward. A future title match is all but guaranteed, yet it's the story, week after week, month after month, that will captivate people. WWE used SummerSlam as a jumping-off point, and now, we could see the very best of CM Punk, likely culminating in a main-event title match at WrestleMania 42. So, yes, Rollins' win was a deflating moment for many, but what comes from that moment will keep wrestling fans talking for the next six to 12 months, and that was likely the whole point.
Montreal’s Cap Strategy: Canadiens Face Hutson Contract Dilemma
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